Six figures for Gomillion’s new assistant is typical

The $115,000 annual salary for the new position of assistant to County Administrator Tony Gomillion is prompting questions and criticism.

But a Navarre Press review of pay scales in nearby counties and those of similar size elsewhere in the state shows that both Gomillion’s compensation and that of his as-yet-unnamed assistant are in line with the current market for such posts.

For example, in Bay County, with a population about 20,000 higher than Santa Rosa, the county administrator’s current pay is $145,000, compared with Gomillion’s $135,570. And Bay has an assistant county administrator salaried at only slightly less than Gomillion, Santa Rosa’s top manager, at $134,535.

In Walton County, where the population of 56,259 is about one-third the size of Santa Rosa, the county administrator is paid about $6,000 a year more than Gomillion and has two deputies. Their salaries are $116,733 and $91,555.

Indeed, the compensation of county managers and their assistants – if they have them – isn’t necessarily linked to population, budgets or staff size.

Read the full article in the Sept. 29 issue of Navarre Press. Click here to subscribe online for as little as $38 per year.